Star Trek Online adopts free-to-play model

Star Trek Online, the sci-fi MMORPG developed by Cryptic Studios, will adopt the free-to-play model later this year, allowing anyone to download and play the game for free without purchasing a retail copy or subscription

All players will be able to take advantage of Star Trek Online's many features for free, from customising avatars, crews and the very ships they command, to exploring a galaxy filled with intrigue and danger. Players will also be able to access additional features a la carte through a virtual goods store. Current players can become Gold Members by continuing to subscribe to the game, while new players can also upgrade to Gold status for a set price. The differences between paying Gold Members and free Silver Players can be found at: http://www.startrekonline.com/f2p

A features matrix, FAQ, overview and various forums can be found on the official Star Trek Online website to better explain the nature of free-to-play to new and existing users.

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Personally, I really hate all existing free to play models. Almost all of them cost significantly more than the original purchase price after you have played for a while (Team Fortress 2 springs to mind here), and most of them completely alienate those original players who have paid up and played for years without ever expecting to have to pay a penny more (again TF2 is a good example here).

I am really, really REALLY hoping that Blizzard never adpot this approach for WoW as it would completely ruin the game..however for something like Star Trek online it might actually work. Looking at the comparison matrix, the things you have to pay for (like extra ships etc) you have to pay for as a subscriber already - so they are not making things any worse by adding this model, it should just bring in new players. I know that I will be downloading this and having a play about now, and I guess that is what they want. I was tempted to buy it at launch but was completely put off by Cryptic's poor track record..but I am willing to give it a shot as a FTP option.

So we'll see how it goes - I just really hope it's not going to be a common approach to MMO games..micro transactions are pure evil from a players POV.

I might give it a go, not a fan of P2P games so something like this where its free to play and you pay for better stuff works for me because I can try it at no cost then if I get into it then I can buy bits without having a rolling monthly cost..